George Beverly Shea Dies At 104

George Beverly Shea 1909-2013

George Beverly Shea has died in Montreat, North Carolina after a brief illness at the age of 104. He was born on February 1, 1909 in Winchester, Ontario, Canada.

Shea is best known for being a soloist with the Billy Graham crusade from 1947 till almost 60 years later when Graham was no longer physically able to stand and preach.

George Beverly Shea shown with Billy Graham at a crusade.

His recording career lasted from 1951 till his death and he recorded 70 albums during his recording career. I can still remember hearing him sing How Great Thou Art and It Took A Miracle and many other songs during the televised crusades.

He was an accomplished musician playing the violin, piano and organ.

Shea was married a combined 70 years to his first wife Erma Scharfe who died in 1976 and his second wife whom he married in 1985 and survived him upon his death.

George Beverly Shea may be gone, but he will never be forgotten by the many of us who saw him sing so many times over the years, with the Billy Graham crusade. His music will live on for years to come.

Comedy Icon Jonathan Winters Dies At 87

Jonathan Winters 1925-2013

America has lost another comedy icon of the early days of television, with the passing of Jonathan Winters today at the age of 87 in Montecito, California. Winters was born in Dayton, Ohio on November 11, 1925.

The thing I remember most about Jonathan Winters were the funny faces he could make. He first made a name for himself in stand-up comedy and released 22 comedy albums from 1960-2011.

His first television appearance appearing as someone other than himself was when he appeared, on Omnibus in 1954. He was heard on one old-time radio show Monitor in 1959, before old-time radio died on September 30, 1962.

Winters appeared in It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad World in 1963. This is physical comedy at its best as Winters levels a service station singlehandedly and he earned $130,000 for his appearance in the movie. :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzZsp8SvJj8

He later appeared as Mearth on Mork and Mindy television series. His last movie appearance was as Papa on Smurfs 2, which is in post-production. He was to have appeared in Big Finish, but it is in pre-production, so he won’t be seen in that film.

Many of his best known television appearances were Tonight Show, Jack Paar Show and Hollywood Squares.

The world has lost of the best improvisational comics ever. Jonathan Winters will be missed by a legion of fans.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/13/arts/television/jonathan-winters-comedian-dies-at-87.html?pagewanted=all&amp&_r=0

Mr. Ed Still In Reruns 52 Years Later

Mr. Ed the talking horse shown with owner Wilbur Post who was portrayed by Alan Young.

 

Mr. Ed a comedy series about a talking horse debuted in January of 1958. The owner of the horse in this show was Wilbur Pope, while Alan Young would portray Wilbur Post, when the show became a regular show on the CBS television network.

Mr. Ed was originally named Bamboo Harvester, after being born in El Monte, California 64 years ago in 1949. His name was changed to Mr. Ed after appearing on the show.

Imdb.com says that Mr. Ed died in 1979 at the age of 30,33 or 34, but other sources say that Mr. Ed died in 1968, 1973 or 1974, so in other words nobody seems to really know the date of his death.

Larry Keating, who portrayed Roger Addison the next door neighbor died in the third season and was replaced by Leon Ames of Topper fame and portrayed Col. Gordon Kirkwood.

Katy Rose a singer grew up in the home Mr. Ed lived in many years after the show ended.

The show was owned by George Burns McCadden Production and Burns chose Alan Young to play Wilbur Post, since he seemed like the kind of guy a horse would talk to.

Mr. Ed was a golden Palomino who would only respond to his trainer Les Hilton, since Mr. Ed would not respond to his co-stars.

His daily diet consisted of 20 pounds of hay and a gallon of sweet tea to wash it down. If he got tired Mr. Ed would simply walk off the set. Anyone else would get fired for such insubordination, but not Mr. Ed who was the real star of the show.

Allan “Rocky Lane” a cowboy star was the voice of Mr. Ed.

Alan Young and Connie Hines with Mr. Ed in the background.

 

 

Alan Young who portrayed Wilbur Post and Connie Hines who played his wife Carol Post on Mr. Ed shown a few years later.

 

Mr. Ed was the kind of show that was entertaining, without being controversial. It may have been silly nonsense, but who cared if the viewers enjoyed it. I still record it off the Hallmark Channel, then watch the shows later so I can zip past the commercials.

This is typical of the dialogue heard on the show:

Wilbur Post: [after Ed finds a straw hat] What are you going to do with a straw hat?

Mister Ed: I’ll wear it till it goes out of style. Then I’ll eat it!

Alan Young was born in North Shields, Northumberland, England on November 19, 1919. He was heard in the old-time radio show on the Alan Young Show. I recently heard one of the shows for the first time and the show was surprisingly good, since the show is not mentioned much in old-time radio circles. The show kept me entertained from beginning to end.

Young later would be the voice of Scrooge McDuck on the Duck Tales series.

Alan Young is now 93 and lives in Laguna Niguel, California.

Connie Hines who played Carol Post was born in Dedham, Massachusetts on March 24, 1931 and  was seen in the Whirlybirds series for those of us who go that far back.

Hines only acted three more times after Mr. Ed ended, with appearance in one episode each of Bonanza, Love American Style and her last appearance in Mod Squad in 1971. She didn’t appear on TV or in the movies the last 38 years of her life.

She died due to a heart condition on December 18, 2009 at the age of 78.

Mr. Ed may have left the air in 1966, but is still in reruns 52 years later. Mr. Ed was and still remains one of my favorite shows. The interaction between Mr. Ed and his owner Wilbur Post is the highlight of the shows.

This is one of the few remaining shows on television, that you can watch with no bad language and no double entendre jokes, that are so prevalent today on the situation comedies of today. Shows like Mr. Ed, Andy Griffith, Father Knows Best are a refuge, from the shows being shown on the networks today. Some of the older shows, that were so entertaining are seldom seen on television today. I haven’t seen an episode of Amos and Andy, Ozzie and Harriet, Red Skelton Show, Life of Riley and others for years and years. Those reruns are not being shown for some reason. There may be stations or networks telecasting some or all of those shows, but if they are I am not aware of it.

Thanks Mr. Ed for still being around to bring back the memories of years gone by.

 

 

Magazine Ads From the Past

These ads will bring a lot of memories to the old-timers among us and will let the younger generation know about the days, when you could buy a Coca-Cola for 5 cents and a pack of gum for 5 cents.

A combination radio-smoker which provided smokers with a place for their cigarettes, cigars, pipes and tobacco, while listening to their favorite radio programs on this $49.95 radio.

This is the precursor of the Sony Walkman for only $7.95, before shipping and federal tax.

Not many restaurants today feature a seven course dinner for $1.75.

Cigar smokers today are not likely to find this two cigars for 5 cents special.

 

A one pound bag of Bazooka Bubble Gum will set you back $7.99 today after inflation kicked in.

 

 

You could look up and down every aisle of every grocery store in the United States and not find these prices. Two boxes of Wheaties probably cost at least 25 cents nowadays and two pounds of coffee has probably doubled to 50 cents.

 

Barber shop prices of the 1900′s on the left. No date given for the prices on the right.

 

Barber shop prices over a 100 years later. The shave and a haircut of the 1900′s cost a total of 60 cents. That same shave and haircut today costs $33.00.

 

Best Oldtime Radio Christmas Program

There are a lot of very funny old-time radio programs, but the best Christmas drama I have heard is “A Daddy For Christmas”. It is one of the most heartwarming Christmas shows ever and as far as I know, it has never been made into a television show.

If someone listens to this show and doesn’t tear up, then something is seriously wrong.

The show which was broadcast on December 15, 1948, on the Family Theater program may be 64 years old, but it will still touch the hearts of those, who celebrate Christmas today.

Bobby Driscoll who plays Stevie in the program had made his movie debut in 1943 at the age of 6 and went on to star in Disney movies. Driscoll acquired a drug habit in high school and died at the early age of 31.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Driscoll

The program lasts 24 minutes and 20 seconds.

http://www.dumb.com/oldtimeradio/listen/13690/Drama_Family_Theater/Family_Theater/481215_A_Daddy_For_Christma.html

Obsolete Electronics From The Past

An Underwood typewriter from the past.

When is the last time you saw someone use a typewriter? I can’t remember one being used by anyone, for at least the last 20 years. A good typist was worth their weight in gold, since typing a letter or legal document required a typist, who was not only fast but was accurate. I wonder what typists did before whiteout was invented. I guess they just started over and hoped for no typing mistakes.

The Harvard Junior Talking Machine  was a machine that reproduced records. This 1907 version was priced at only $4.50  and showed that even in the 1900′s people were recording music.

Antique radio consoles like this were still being used as late as 1959, when I listened to it on my grandpa’s farm in Missouri. I will never forget how the sound was better than most radios of today. Radios like this can be restored and found on eBay or at the websites of dealers, who refurbished them, so they could be used again. If you don’t want an antique console in your living room, this model can play records, CD’s and includes an AM-FM radio. It may be pricey at $358.96, but for those wh0 have the money to spend it would make an excellent addition to a den or living room.

http://www.amazon.com/Crosley-CR44CD-Turntable-Console-Player/dp/B0006PU71G/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Old-fashioned pay phones are just about obsolete today, due to the proliferation of cell phones. Very few people don’t own a cell phone today, so there is very little need for pay phones.

The Commodore 64 was very popular in the 80′s, but the desktops and laptops of today, have relegated it to being just another computer of the past.

Video recorders of the past were bulky in the past, but today video recorders can fit in a shirt pocket like this one.

This video camera is much lighter than the pictured camcorder. It only weighs 2.2 ounces, so it will fit into a pocket easily.

What Old Time Radio Means To Me

I was born in 1944 and lived the first 18 years of my life, during the old time radio era, which ended on September 30,1962, when the last two dramatic shows, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and Suspense were broadcast for the last time.

There are no recollections in my mind, of our family gathering around the radio, like the family pictured above, but I still can recall hearing some of the programs. I can remember hearing Dragnet, Bob Hope, Arthur Godfrey and the Breakfast Club with Don McNeill. I can also recall my mother listening to the soap operas of that era, as she listened to Just Plain Bill, Stella Dallas, Lorenzo Jones, Pepper Young’s Family and One Man’s Family.

1960 would see the last five soap operas leave the radio airwaves, including Ma Perkins and Young Doctor Malone.

Arthur Godfrey was the most popular talk show host during the old time radio era.

Arthur Godfrey Time and Don McNeill’s Breakfast Club were the two best-known early morning shows and  were often heard in our house in the mornings, though they must have been on at the same time at some point.  The last Breakfast Club was broadcast in 1968, while the last Arthur Godfrey Time was broadcast in 1972.

There was something about Arthur Godfrey, that made him seem like a family friend and he could sell anything, since he came across as being someone you could trust.

Interest in Old Time Radio Rekindled In 90′s

My interest in old time radio became rekindled in the 90′s, when my mother let me listen to a set of old time radio shows. I bought a few tapes of my own, but didn’t really start collecting old time radio shows, till I found that I could buy MP3 CD’s of old time radio shows on eBay for nominal prices.

That is when I became serious about collecting old time radio shows. Previously cassettes and regular compact discs could hold very few shows, but the MP3 compact discs made it possible to record fifty half-hour shows onto one MP3 CD. I also bought the shows at MP3 CD sellers online, who were selling the shows for bargain prices. For instance, I was able to buy over 800 Jack Benny shows for only $12. To buy that many shows on a cassette or regular compact disc would have cost hundreds of dollars, before the advent of MP3 CD’s.

One key to buying old time radio shows is to always go to lowest price plus shipping, when searching for shows on eBay. For instance 441 shows of  Boston Blackie and The Shadow on a DVD can be bid on for only 99 cents and this price includes shipping. The price could still go up, but probably not that much, since there are only three days left in the bidding, on this particular DVD.  DVD’s hold even more shows and enable a collector, to build a large collection even faster.

I also bought a lot of shows from otrcat.com, which offers a complete sample show to listen to, of almost every show available at the website. The site also has excellent descriptions of each show, so you will know the history of that show before buying it.

The front page of the website has a New Additions feature, that sells shows that have added previously unheard episodes or obscure shows, not usually sold online by any dealer.

http://www.otrcat.com/index.php

Record Keeping, Playing MP3 CD’s

I have a filing system with my collection, with about 175 MP3 CD’s inside one large folder, which holds over 17,000 shows. I keep a notebook folder with loose leaf paper, with a sheet of paper for each show. I write the name of the show, the name of the episode and when it was listened to. That prevents me from listening to the same show more than once, unless I like the show enough to listen to it more often.

At first I listened to the episodes on a portable MP3 CD player, but later switched to a MP3 player, which plays the shows after the digital  files for the shows have been uploaded into the MP3 player. Once they are in the MP3 player, the names of each episode is shown in a list on the MP3 player. After listening to the show, the show can be deleted from the MP3 player, to avoid having to go through so many shows to find one particular episode.

When I select a MP3 CD to listen to I insert the CD into the CD drive on the computer. It then shows up in the Windows Explorer files and I send the shows I want to my MP3 player, which has been connected to the tower. I can manually highlight the shows I want transfered to MP3 player and after writing the information for each episode of that show into the notebook, then manually drag the episodes of that show, into the MP3 player. In my case I use the Sony Content Transfer folder as the ultimate destination on the desktop, which is really the MP3 player.

I have a list of all my shows and how many episodes and how many CD’s and hours there are of each episode.

For example, there are 869 Jack Benny Shows in my collection on 9 MP3 CD’s which total 433 hours of Jack Benny shows.

My Favorite Old Time Radio Shows

My favorite old time radio show is This Is Your FBI, which tells true stories of FBI cases of that era and especially features stories of soldiers, who have returned from war who have been swindled out of their money, by con men who conspire to take their money.

The shows feature both the criminals making their plans and squabbling among themselves and the FBI agents working to capture the criminals. The shows are easy to listen to and keep your attention, since the shows are so well-written.

 

Boston Blackie is one of my favorites, because I enjoy the interplay between Blackie and Inspector Faraday. The inspector immediately suspects that Blackie committed whatever crime is being committed, because of Blackie’s criminal history as a safe cracker. However, the inspector is always proven wrong by the end of the story.

 Night Watch was a precursor to COPS, with the main difference, that it is an old time radio show from the 1950′s that uses a reporter in the police car to record every word spoken during a night on patrol.

The show will touch the listeners emotionally, as it touched me. One of the episodes is about a lady who leaves her kids in the car, while she goes into a bar. The older child is trying to watch out for the younger child.

Another emotional part of the shows is when parents are told, that their child is in trouble for breaking a law. This show is one of the more riveting shows of old time radio but it wasn’t on the air long, so all we can do is enjoy the shows, as the policemen question the victims and criminals to get to the truth of whatever situation is being heard. This is true reality radio at its best.

  The Great Gildersleeve is my favorite comedy of old time radio days. Harold Peary’s portrayal of Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve is right on the money. His character was first heard on Fibber McGee and Molly, but he later had his own show with him, as the water commissioner of Summerfield, less than two years after his first appearance on Fibber McGee and Molly.

  Gildersleeve’s home consisted of his nephew Leroy and his niece Marjorie and the cook named Birdie. Gildersleeve comes off as a bombastic oaf, who likes to be in charge of whatever is going on at the time. He also has an eye for the girls and is intent at Christmas time to maneuver the girls, to where they will be standing under the mistletoe.

  I never tire of hearing the same Christmas shows, since they represent so well, what Christmas was like in the 1940′s and 1950′s. It is funny hearing Gildersleeve worrying about how much someone is spending on his Christmas present. He is determined to spend not one penny more than what someone spends on him

Richard LeGrand who portrays the local druggist Richard Peavey is one of my favorite characters on the show. The mild-mannered Peavey is an excellent contrast, with the more in-your-face Gildersleeve. His drugstore is an oasis away from the turbulent Gildersleeve home, which always seems to be in chaos.

Judge Hooker played by Earle Ross and Gildersleeve have a tempestuous relationship, that keeps them from being on good terms most of the time. He is also the opposite of Mr. Peavey and I can’t recall the two of them interacting much on the show.

The show to me seemed to lose its spark, when Harold Peary left the show. I have nothing against Willard Waterman, who was in a lose-lose situation trying to replace Peary, but nobody could really replace Peary.

I have only listened to 38 of the over 500 shows in the series.

CBS Radio Workshop was one of the most innovative shows during the old time radio era. I liked Program #6 The Voice of the City in which life on New York streets was recorded. I also enjoyed Evening on Broadway and it probably better depicted the sounds, of people talking to each other on a busy sidewalk.

The Enormous Radio program in the series of shows on the CBS Radio Workshop was about a radio that picked up the conversations of neighbors, instead of regular radio programs.

Ex-Urbanites was a dramatic presentation of how city-dwellers moving to the suburbs, found out that the suburbs were not as great, as they expected and the travel especially became a burden.

There are too many excellent programs to mention them all, but this first link will take you to where you can read about the CBS Radio Workshop and the second to a website, where you can actually listen to the shows.

http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-CBS-Radio-Workshop.html

http://archive.org/details/CBSRadioWorkshop

Those who want to only listen to the shows and are not interested in buying them for themselves, there are many websites, that make it possible to hear hundreds and in some cases thousands of shows for free.

Archive.org is one of the best sites online to listen to free old time radio shows.

http://archive.org/search.php?query=old%20time%20radio

OTR.net has over 12,000 free old time radio shows to listen to, including 442 Fibber McGee and Molly shows, 610 Jack Benny shows, 468 Great Gildersleeve shows and 406 Gunsmoke shows.

http://otr.net/

Radiolovers.com does not come close to the content of the above two websites and you will notice many of your favorite shows, that are missing from the list of shows. However there are some lesser-known shows that are on the list, that may not be found elsewhere on the internet.

http://radiolovers.com/

Oldradioworld.com has a lot of the same shows found on the other websites, but still a good resource.

http://www.oldradioworld.com/

Oldtimeradiofans.com has some soap operas that aren’t mentioned in some of the other websites.

 http://www.oldtimeradiofans.com/

The following website is the best resource for old time radio information, since it lists most of the shows, that were ever broadcast on old time radio. The site may not be all-inclusive, but it is the closet thing out there. There are lists of  old time radio programs and who was heard in each show and a list of actors that tells how many shows and lists the shows they were heard in.

http://radiogoldindex.com/

This website has a wealth of information about old time radio.

http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2home.html

This link within the above site takes you to a list of program logs that can be found. This list doesn’t include some of the better-known shows.

http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2-jukebox-main.html

This is what the Mel Blanc Show page looks like:

http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-Mel-Blanc-Show.html

To my knowledge there is no other website that has this many old time radio photos and ads. Someone could literally spend hours at this website.

The home page for the above sites has even more links to more old time radio information, plus has a lot of information about other nostalgic topics.

http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/

What old time radio means to me can be found in the old time radio shows, that remind me of a simpler time, when families ate dinner together at home and not at a crowded restaurant, except on special occasions.

What old time radio means to me…..

 Listening to Gildersleeve arguing with Judge Hooker or Fibber McGee over the price of a Christmas present.

 Listening to Kingfish trying to pull a fast one on the gullible Andrew H. Brown on Amos and Andy.

Listening to Joe Friday questioning a witness or criminal on Dragnet.

Listening to Mrs. Brooks the teacher talk in the car, as her student Walter Denton drives her to school. How many students drive their teachers to school today?

Listening to the criminals on This Is Your Life plan their next crime.

Listening to the sounds of Broadway on CBS Radio Workshop.

Listening to a live big band radio remote, when big band era was thriving.

Listening to the incessant doorbell ringing on Fibber McGee and Molly.

Listening to the contents of the closet crashing to the floor on Fibber McGee and Molly.

Listening to Boston Blackie and Inspector Faraday make sarcastic remarks toward each other.

Listening to Richard Diamond serenade his girlfriend Helen, after solving the crime for that show.

Listening to the Bickersons bickering with each other endlessly on The Bickersons.

Listening to Chester A. Riley act like a nincompoop in front of family and friends on Life of Riley.

Listening to the great organ music on Nick Carter.

Listening to Groucho Marx ask the same question over and over to a You Bet Your Life contestant.

Listening to Johnny Dollar itemizing his expenses out loud on Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.

Listening to the great sound on Gunsmoke…probably the best sounding old time radio show.

Andy Griffith Before and After Andy Griffith Show

The late Andy Griffith in a scene from No Time For Sergeants.

 

The first time I heard of Andy Griffith was when he appeared in the movie No Time For Sergeants. He played Will Stockdale a mountain boy, who is drafted into the U.S. Army. He had already played the part in the Broadway play by the same name three years, before the 1958 movie was released.

The funniest scene of the movie to me was when he was named PLO (Permanent Latrine Orderly). He rigged the toilet seats to stand up all at once, which shocked the inspecting officer to say the least. However, this scene of him being tested by a corporal for manual dexterity may be even funnier. Don Knotts plays the corporal, who is utterly frustrated by the way Andy’s character Will Stockdale puts the two links together. Don Knotts appears at about the 1:15 mark.

I hadn’t even known Andy Griffith had appeared in A Face in the Crowd in 1957, in a dramatic role unlike the Andy Griffith I had known in No Time For Sergeants and on the Andy Griffith show.

Andy received top billing in the movie portraying an Arkansas hobo Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes who becomes rich overnight. This is a scene from A Face In The Crowd:

Made Television Debut On U.S. Steel Hour

Andy had made his television debut on the U.S. Steel Hour when he played Will Stockdale on television. He played the role on Broadway, on television and in the movies, which probably has not been done very often, by any actor in the same role.

He also made the movie Onionhead in 1958, so it was a very busy year for him.

Danny Thomas Show Role As Sheriff

Andy got a big break when he appeared on a Danny Thomas episode in 1960, where Danny is given a ticket, by a small-town sheriff.  Andy is perplexed when he finds out that Andy is not only the sheriff, but also the justice of the peace.

The Danny Thomas episode led to the formation of the Andy Griffith show which was shown that same year, on the CBS television network.  249 episodes later the Andy Griffith show would complete its run.

He appeared on Mayberry RFD for two years, then had two series fail in short order, when Headmaster lasted 13 episodes in 1970, followed by the New Andy Griffith show which lasted only 10 episodes. He didn’t return to another series until 1979 when Salvage One only last 19 episodes. He had appeared in three series since leaving Mayberry RFD, but only 42 shows were made of those three series combined.

Seven years later Andy tried again for a hit series and he struck gold with Matlock which ran from 1986-1995. He appeared in various television series and movies till he made his last acting appearance in Play the Game in 2009 at the age of 83.

Andy non only was an actor, but recorded gospel songs. This is Andy singing How Great Thou Art:

I looked at Andy Griffith and saw a role model, for the right way to live life.

My wife and daughter surprised me in 2006, when we went to Mt. Airy, N.C. to see Andy’s boyhood home. I didn’t know we were going to stay there that night and it was the surprise of my life, when I found out we were actually spending the night there. Hampton Inn rents out the home to tourists and it was something I will never forget. I even played baseball with my grandson in Andy’s backyard.

The late Andy Griffith’s boyhood home in Mt. Airy, NC.

Andy had also made some comedy records early in his career. I had the record that has him giving his impression of seeing his first football game. He said in his monologue that 5 or 6 convicts were running up and down the field blowing whistles.  The game was played in a cow pasture and Andy concludes saying that the object of the game must be to keep from being knocked down or stepping in something.

The only remaining actors still alive from Andy Griffith are Jim “Gomer Pyle” Nabors and Betty “Thelma Lou” Lynn.

I was 15 when the first Andy Griffith show was televised in 1960 and was 23 when the last show aired, so have been watching Andy Griffith during the first eight original years and in 44 years of re-runs.

Andy, Thanks for the memories and RIP.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andy Griffith Dies At 86 On Roanoke Island, North Carolina

Andy Griffith 1926-2012

Andy Griffith died this morning at his home on Roanoke Island, North Carolina at the age of 86.

Death has taken another star of the Andy Griffith Show. George Lindsey who portrayed Goober on the show had passed away on May 6.

Andy Griffith’s character Andy Taylor was one of the most beloved characters on television. The show revolved around him and he saw early in the show’s run, that it would be better to play the straight man for off the wall characters like Barney Fife played by Don Knotts, Gomer Pyle who was portrayed by Jim Nabors, Otis Campbell being portrayed by Hal Smith and the aforementioned George Lindsey as Goober.

Life Lessons Taught

Andy taught his son Opie Taylor well, trying to bring him up without a mother in the home. Many shows dwelt on Andy telling Opie, how to deal with life’s problems the right way.

Whatever problem Opie may have been experiencing Andy always had the right solution , to any problem that might arise. This video from the show in which Opie killed a bird with a slingshot is an excellent example of  how Andy taught his son to do the right thing.

 

The interplay between Andy and Barney Fife was a huge part, of the success of the show. Don Knotts suggested that the show needed a deputy and that move guaranteed the success of the show. Andy asks Barney about the Emancipation Proclamation, which shows how Andy could rile up Barney.

 

When Don Knotts left the show after five years, Andy proved he could still draw the fans. as the show’s ratings stayed strong, after the departure of Knotts.

 

I can remember watching Andy Griffith and Don Knotts in No Time For Sergeants movie, many years ago and we watched the movie three times in a row, since that was allowed in the 50′s.

We have lost an American icon in Andy Griffith, one day before the July 4th holiday. Andy Griffith represented everything, that is great about America. He leaves a rich legacy behind of television shows and movies, in which he appeared.

Andy Griffith will be missed.

 

The New York Times obituary for Andy Griffith:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/04/arts/television/andy-griffith-actor-dies-at-86.html?pagewanted=all

 

Jackie Gleason: From Pool Hustler To Smokey and the Bandit

Jackie Gleason was best known for portraying Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners but also appeared on the big screen from 1941-1986.

Jackie Gleason grew up in Brooklyn, New York and didn’t have much of a childhood, with his father abandoning the family, when Gleason was eight years old. His mother died when he was 16. His brother Clemence had died when he was three, so Jackie was an only child during most of his childhood.

Jackie Gleason as he appeared in Larceny Inc. movie in 1942 at the age of 26.

Gleason’s first foray into the movies lasted only two years, but he appeared in nine movies in those two years, including Orchestra Wives and Larceny, Inc. Then he performed in nightclubs and appeared in some Broadway plays till he received his first television starring role in Life of Riley, portraying the title character. He was not really suited well for the role and it was cancelled, but revived when William Bendix, the voice of Riley on radio became the star of the show.

Jackie Gleason Orchestra Formed

Jackie Gleason saw there was a place for romantic music and formed the Jackie Gleason Orchestra. I have read that there was never an actual traveling Jackie Gleason Orchestra but this article proves that assumption is incorrect, since this review of a performance with Gleason proves they did travel to different venues. Music showed there was a serious side to Jackie Gleason. I was surprised to read that Gleason actually was conducting the orchestra. Bobby Hackett is the one playing the trumpet solos on most, if not all of his albums.

http://www.bigbandsandbignames.com/gleason.html

Music For Lovers, the debut album for the orchestra was a tremendous hit and showed their was a market for romantic music:

Gleason’s first album, Music for Lovers Only, still holds the record for the album staying the longest in the Billboard Top Ten Charts (153 weeks), and his first ten albums all sold over one million copies.^[19]

I have his Best of Jackie Gleason and His Orchestra album and it includes these songs:

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1015597/a/Best+of+Jackie+Gleason.htm

The now defunct Dumont Television network hired Gleason as summer host of Cavalcade of Stars. He handled the hosting duties so well, that he was named permanent host. He introduced his Ralph Kramden character during the series and the sketches would evolve into The Honeymooners in 1955.

Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows in a scene from The Honeymooners television series 1955-1956.

There is no doubt that The Honeymooners television series is what made Jackie Gleason a household word. The show centered around his character Ralph Kramden and the show was clearly focused on whatever hare-brained scheme, that he was planning at the time.

The Jackie Gleason Show was telecast from 1952-1957 and then revived again to run from 1966-1970. In between he also hosted the Jackie Gleason: American Scene Magazine from 1962-1966.

You’re In The Picture Bombs

Jackie Gleason did have one colossal failure, when he was the host of a new game show named You’re In The Picture in 1961. This article details the failure of the show the first week and how Gleason came back the second week with a new format:

http://www.tvparty.com/picture.html

1961 would see Gleason also have one of his biggest triumphs on the big screen in The Hustler. He played Minnesota Fats the pool hustler and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor but did not win. It was an awesome achievement, considering that he hadn’t appeared in a movie, since appearing in Desert Hawk in 1950.

He is seen with Paul Newman in this pool room scene from The Hustler:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TC3kqFUmqQ

The next year Gleason would return in Gigot, in which he played a mute and would be nominated for a Golden Globes Award as best actor. Gleason wrote the screenplay, starred and wrote the music for Gigot. Gleason was the only recognizable name in the entire cast of this movie.  He is seen in this clip from Gigot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la5tyq9gblk

Gleason also appeared in Requiem For A Heavyweight in 1962. He acted well in the movie, but failed to garner any nominations or awards, for his performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54kM1mY86Mc

He appeared in Papa’s Delicate Condition and Soldier in the Rain in 1963 and wouldn’t appear in another movie, till he appeared in Skidoo in 1968. It is strange that he appeared in so many successful movies, than stopped his movie career for the next five years. He could be that filming his American Scene Magazine television show and appearing in movies was too much for him.

Next he appeared in How To Commit Marriage and Don’t Drink The Water in 1969, then took an eight year hiatus from making movies till 1977.  He appeared in Mr. Billion and Smokey and the Bandit in 1977.  I was going to include some clips of Gleason portraying Sheriff Buford T. Justice, but the dialogue was filled with so much bad language, that I decided not to use it, in case some kids were to watch it. He would go on to appear in Part II and Part III of the Smokey and the Bandit movies in 1980 and 1983.

Gleason also appeared in The Toy in 1982 and The Sting II in 1983, before appearing Nothing In Common in 1986, which would be his last movie. His movie career spanned 45 years from 1941-1986.

It is ironic that Gleason only won a Tony Award in his long career for Take Me Along, while never winning a Emmy, Grammy or Academy Award.

Jackie Gleason died of cancer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on June 24, 1987 at the age of 71. Gleason left his mark on Broadway, in the movies, on television and music. He truly was an entertainer of the first magnitude.

His obituary from the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/25/obituaries/jackie-gleason-dies-of-cancer-comedian-and-actor-was-71.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

A road sign with his famous catch phrase:

The burial place of Jackie Gleason in Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery in Miami, Florida.

Jackie Gleason kept his sense of humor in death with his famous catchphrase.

Dick Haymes: Great Singer Wed Six Times, Plagued By Alcoholism and Debt

Dick Haymes seen singing I Wish I Knew in Diamond Horseshoe (1945)

Fans of music from the 1940′s remember Dick Haymes as the singer, who never reached the name recognition of  his contemporaries, of Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, but still possessed one of the best baritone voices of that era.

Haymes was born September 13, 1918 in Buenos Aires, Argentina and died in Los Angeles, California on March 28, 1980 at the age of 61 of lung cancer.

His first big break was when he was signed as the soloist for the Harry James Orchestra in the early 1940′s. He went on to sing with the big bands of Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey.

Next he would become a major recording star and appeared in 13 movies in the 1940′s, while also having his own radio program.

While his career was going well, he encountered marital problems in all of his six marriages, including the last one to Wendy Smith. She didn’t even attend his funeral, since she had filed for divorce before his death.

Wikipedia lists his six marriages:

Edith Harper
(1939; annulled) annulled when Haymes found out Harper was not pregnant, after Harper had told Haymes she was pregnant, causing him to marry her.
Joanne Dru
(1941-1949)
Nora Eddington
(1949-1953)
Rita Hayworth
(1953-1955)
Fran Jeffries
(1958-1965)
Wendy Smith
(1966-1980)

The six marriages produced six babies with three of them coming from his marriage with Joanne Dru.

Fran Jeffries was divorced from Haymes at the age of 28 and is 75 today and never remarried. She is famous for appearing in the movie The Pink Panther singing Meglio Stasera in the following scene.

Haymes had a serious drinking problem that plagued him for years. Then when his career took a downturn he began experiencing financial difficulties, due to his record and film contracts being canceled.

No matter how bad things were going for him, Haymes continued to possess one of the best baritone voices, ever heard in American music in songs like these:

Dick Haymes singing The Nearness of You.

Dick Haymes singing The More I See You to Betty Grable in the movie Diamond Horseshoe.

Life didn’t always treat Haymes well, but he never lost that rich, golden baritone voice, that he used for almost 40 years to entertain on radio, records, appearing with big bands and in the movies.

The world lost a great singer when Haymes died, but we can listen to his albums like this one that I have in my collection.

http://www.amazon.com/This-Is-Always-Dick-Haymes/dp/B00002MMYD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337698065&sr=8-1

Spotify users that like music from the 1940′s will find a long list of  Dick Haymes music by just typing Dick Haymes in the search box.

If there is a listing for the word Easy Listening in the encyclopedia, it should be accompanied by a photo of Dick Haymes, since he best epitomizes what a easy listening singer should sound like.

His music is the kind of music you want to listen to after having a bad day, as you forget the troubles of the day and listen to the soothing music of Dick Haymes.

Dick Haymes may be gone, but he surely is not forgotten.

Dave Garroway: First Host of Today Show, Broadcasting Pioneer

Dave Garroway 1913-1982

David Cunningham Garroway was born on July 13, 1913 in Schenectady, New York. Garroway had lived in 13 places by the age of 14, but did settle in St. Louis, Missouri, where he attended University City High School and Washington University.  He earned a degree in abnormal psychology.

A broadcasting career didn’t seem to be on the horizon for Garroway, after he finished 23rd in a class of 24 for NBC announcers. He was still able to find work with KDKA in Pittsburgh, which reportedly was the first commercial radio station.

After having moved to Chicago after his stint with KDKA, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was a disc jockey for a Honolulu radio station on the side. Then after the war he returned to Chicago as a disc jockey on WMAQ radio.

Dave Garroway is shown promoting his new show Today with Fred Allen injecting humor during Garroway’s promotional pitch.

Garroway appeared in several radio and television shows before receiving his big break, when he became the original host of the Today show in 1952, including Garroway At Large which was broadcast by NBC from June 1949 to June 1951.

Dave Garroway and his co-host J. Fred Muggs shown celebrating the 5th anniversary of the Today show in 1957.

NBC began telecasting Wide Wide World from 1955-1958. I can recall watching this show often, since there was not much on television on Sunday afternoons.

Dave Garroway introducing the television program Wide Wide World. The video shows scenes from across America, while Garroway comments on what is happening. It is a great way to relive what it was like, on a Sunday afternoon in America 57 years ago.

The key to the success of Garroway was his easygoing style, which made him almost seem to be a family friend, when he was appearing on a television program. I will never forget him holding his hand up and saying “Peace” at the end of some of his programs.

It would have been nice to say that Garroway’s time on Today ended on the best of terms. He reportedly began to be more difficult to work with and even would disappear in the middle of the show. Then his world changed forever on April 28, 1961 when his second wife Pamela Wilde died from drug-related causes. It upset Garroway so much that he announced he was leaving Today and made his last appearance on Today on June 16, 1961.

Garroway didn’t disappear from the television screen, but never came close to being the force on television, that he was when he was the host of Today.

He appeared on the 30th anniversary show ofTodayon January 14, 1982 with his co-host Jack Lescoulie, and the news editor Frank Blair. In addition the anniversary show featured Pat Weaver who created Today.

It is sad to know that Garroway who appeared to be enjoying celebrating the 30th anniversary show, would be dead six months later.

Garroway had open heart surgery prior to taking his own life. He was found dead on July 21, 1982 in his Swarthmore, Pennsylvania home. He was 69 at the time of his death.

The following video of the 30th anniversary of Today was apparently videotaped on a VCR. The video is shaky at first but is better a few seconds later and very watchable.

The video shows the very first Today show from 1952 and will bring back memories to those who watched the show in the early days of the show.

It is ironic to hear that critic John Crosby thought Today would last no longer than 15 weeks. It turned out he was a little off, as the show celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.

While doing research on Dave Garroway, it reminded me once again of how little we really know, about celebrities like Dave Garroway. The late Andy Rooney of 60 Minutes did know Garroway better than most of us and knew that he did have a dark side as is revealed in this article written shortly after Garroway’s death:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lNs0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=TfsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2343,847687&dq=dave+garroway+obituary&hl=en

This obituary tells more of the details of how his body was found 45 minutes after his wife left the house, on the morning of July 21, 1982:

http://www.richsamuels.com/nbcmm/davegarrowayobit.html

This article doesn’t come close to telling the life story of Dave Garroway. He was a complex man, with a wide variety of interests including jazz music, automobiles and astronomy.

Sadly, Garroway never wrote his planned autobiography, so we will never know his complete thoughts on the events in his life.

However, he does leave a legacy in the memories of each of  us who watched him five mornings a week for nine years on the Today show, watching him on Sunday afternoons for three years on Wide Wide World and countless other appearances after leaving both of those programs, in lesser known, but not any less important programs before his death.

The most lasting impression from Garroway was him holding his hand up and saying “Peace”. Thank you Mr. Garroway for doing your part in sharing the world with us.

History Shows on Old Time Radio

Old time radio not only broadcast comedies, detective shows, thrillers and music programs, but also broadcast information programming like Biography In Sound, which consisted of one hour-long broadcasts about famous politicians and personalities in history.The show was broadcast from 1954-1958.

For instance you can listen to shows featuring the life of Babe Ruth, then listen to Franklin Delano Roosevelt life story. Right now I have a Connie Mack program lined up in my MP3 player to play.

Last week I listened to story of Ernie Pyle the war correspondent, who lived with American troops mostly in the European theater. The broadcast features people who remember him as a kid and as an adult.

The list of shows represents a large spectrum of authors, presidents, entertainers and even the elderly painter Grandma Moses.

Readers can view the list of show at: http://www.archive.org/details/BiographiesInSound

 

Cavalcade of America was the longest running historical old-time radio show. It ran from 1935-1953. 741 episodes of the shows are available for purchase at otrcat.com

If you would rather just listen to a few free shows online you can enjoy listening to episodes like Here Is Your War, with James Gleason portraying war correspondent Ernie Pyle and telling the story of the American soldier in combat.

The list of shows at archive.org gives an idea of how many different topics are covered in the show that ran 18 years.

http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Cavalcade_of_America_Singles

Mister President is a drama in which Edward Arnold portrayed a different president each week. The show ran from 1947-1953. Listeners asked to guess which president was being represented in each episode. Almost all the presidents in the series were in office in the 18th and 19th centuries.

I listened to the President James Polk episode last week and thoroughly enjoyed Arnold’s portrayal of President Polk.

Archive.org has this list of free shows to listen to. The shows can be downloaded, then uploaded into an MP3 player:

http://www.archive.org/details/Mister_President

Jack Webb: From Dragnet to Adam 12 to Emergency

Jack Webb 1920-1982

Jack Webb was born on April 2, 1920 in Santa Monica, California. He died at the age of 62 on December 23, 1982 in West Hollywood California.

His father left home before Webb was born and he never knew his dad. He joined the Army Air Force but asked for a hardship discharge after not making the grade in flight training.

Acted in Old Time Radio

Webb starred in an ABC radio comedy the Jack Webb Show in 1946. He then starred in several detective themed old-time radio shows. Pat Novak For Hire, Johnny Modero, Pier 23 and Jeff Regan, Investigator which were his best known radio programs prior to Dragnet.

His big break came when Dragnet was first broadcast on radio in 1949, then would run till 1954. Webb portrayed Sgt. Joe Friday as a no-nonsense detective, who didn’t mince words.  The television version of Dragnet began televising in 1952 with Ben Alexander cast as Detective Frank Smith, concurrently with the radio version till 1954, when the radio series ended. The televised version would remain on the air till 1959. There was a radio or television version of Dragnet  being heard or seen for ten continuous years.

Webb loved jazz and starred in Pete Kelly’s Blues which on radio for less than two months, but would be the predecessor to the film version, of Pete Kelly’s Blues released in 1955. Then Pete Kelly’s Blues was also shown on television in 1959, but only 13 episodes were aired, before it was cancelled.

Dragnet also had a presence in radio, television and movies and it was successful in all three forms of media. A new television version of the original Dragnet named Dragnet 1967 ran till 1970 with Harry Morgan portraying Officer Bill Gannon.

Jack Webb grew up with severe asthma yet was a heavy smoker as can be seen by this advertisement mentioning that he smoked two packs a day. Smoking two packs a day today would cost roughly $180 a month.

Webb became so involved in production, that he wasn’t seen on the television screen often. He created Adam 12 which ran from 1968-1975 and  Ohara, U.S. Treasury which was shown from 1971-1972.

Julie London former wife of Jack Webb and her husband Bobby Troup on Emergency television program that aired on NBC.

Jack Webb showed he had no animosity toward his former wife Julie London, by hiring her and her husband to appear in his Emergency television program.  They appeared in but two of the 133 episodes that were aired.

Webb was married to Julie London from 1947-1953. He then married Dorothy Towne from 1955-1957, Jackie Loughery from 1958-1964. He widowed his last wife who he was married to from 1980-1982.

Jack Webb was working on a third television version of Dragnet with Kent McCord from Adam 12 lined up to be his partner, but died of a heart attack at 62.

Chief Daryl Gates of the Los Angeles Police Department retired Badge 714 after his death and Mayor Tom Bradley ordered all flags to flown at half-mast in his honor. He would be buried with a replica Badge 714.

Jack Webb’s tombstone is typical of Webb. There is no huge ornamental tombstone, but a plain tombstone, with his name and his life span.

This article written by Ben Alexander, gives us a better idea of  what the real Jack Webb was like. This paragraph tells me all I need to know about Jack Webb. I am inserting it here for those who may not have time to read the article:

Look at Victor Rodman. He had been disabled in an accident, and one of Jack’s joys about creating “Noah’s Ark” was the chance it gave him to employ Victor in a role that didn’t require walking around. Jack was thrilled with “Noah’s Ark” because it gave Victor a chance to prove what a fine actor he is. And a big reason Jack is eager to revive the show is that Victor will be working again.

http://www.badge714.com/

The Internet Movie Database biography includes some interesting trivia about Jack Webb:

Was buried with full honors befitting a LAPD detective, including a 17-gun salute.

Had just over 6,000 jazz albums in his private collection.

At the height of “Dragnet’s” popularity, people would actually call the LAPD wanting to speak to Webb’s character, Sgt. Joe Friday. The Department eventually came up with a stock answer to the large volume of calls: “Sorry, it’s Joe’s day off.”

Was a huge baseball fan, and chose badge number 714 for Sgt. Friday because it was the number of home runs Babe Ruth hit.

 

Jack Webb has created a lot of shows since Dragnet, but will always remember him, telling us what department he was working out of in the police department.

The color version of Dragnet was good, but there was something special, about the black and white version of  the 50′s. Those shows seemed to be more simple.  Who can ever forget the show, about the boy who got a rifle for Christmas and accidentally shoots his friend? This is the three-part The Big .22 Rifle For Christmas episode. Part 3 is very emotional as the father talks to his dead son, telling him what he would have received for Christmas. Then to make it even more emotional, the father of the boy killed,then gives the presents for his son,  to the boy who shot his son.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMbWZZVHYZQ

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl_-TNDVb7I&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–94KuSo5oM&feature=related

 

 

 

Old Time Radio 101: Guide To Collecting Old Time Radio Shows

A family gathered around the radio to listen to an old time radio program during the heyday of old time radio.

Ninety one years ago KDKA in Pittsburgh went on the air, becoming the first commercial radio station, broadcasting its signal in 1920.

By the end of 1923, hundreds of radio stations were now broadcasting. An estimated three to four million radio sets were able to pick up the broadcast of the funeral, of President Woodrow Wilson on February 26, 1924.

The Grand Ole Opry will broadcast its first program in 1925, with it being broadcast continuously for 86 years. Sam and  Henry first heard in 1926 would become Amos N’ Andy in 1928 and remain on radio until 1960, to be come the longest running old time radio show.

With NBC being founded in 1926 and CBS starting the next year in 1926, networks were now in place, to broadcast nationwide radio series. The Goldbergs went on the air in 1929 and would run till 1950.

Radio listeners would hear the homespun humor of Lum N’ Abner for the first time in 1931, making this year the 80th anniversary of their first show.

Jack Benny and Fred Allen and other comedians debuted on network radio in 1932 paving the way for other comedians in coming years.

The horror and thriller genre would present The Shadow for the first time in 1932, while Just Plain Bill and One Man’s Family debuted from the soap opera genre. Action heroes Buck Rogers and Tarzan were also first heard in 1932.

Don McNeill’s Breakfast Club first aired in 1933 and would remain on the air through 1968. I can still remember the song from the opening of the show, as best I can remember:

“Good morning Breakfast Clubbers, howdy do you, first call to breakfast to all of you out there, America’s first call to breakfast”.

The Lux Radio Theater would begin its 22 year run in 1934. It was regarded as the best of the theater type shows, in which famous actors would present a film in spoken form.

Bob Hope and Fibber McGee and Molly hit the airwaves in 1935. The shows were debuting so fast, that it is not possible to continue the chronology, due to time and space limitations. There would be at least one new show debuting on network radio through 1959. 1961 and 1962 would be first years with no new radio programming being introduced. Old time radio for all practical purposes died on September 30, 1962 when Suspense and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar aired their last episodes. They were the last scripted shows broadcast on network radio. Some radio variety shows like Arthur Godfrey remained on the air, non-scripted shows had disappeared from the old-time radio scene.

Television and movies brought about the demise of old-time radio. People that used to gather in their living rooms, to hear old-time radio programs, now gathered to watch television. If they weren’t doing that they were watching movies at the local movie house, or watching movies from their car at a local drive-in movie theatre.

Old Time Radio Shows Can Still Be Heard

Collecting old-time radio shows used to be cost prohibitive, for the most part for collectors. Then MP3 recordings changed all that by letting old-time radio fans listen to as many as 50 half-hour programs on one MP3 disc. Some online old-time radio dealers would sell a disc like that for as little as $4.

That is only reason my collection of old-time radio shows numbers around 18,000. I have a notebook that shows what shows I have listened to and when. With that many shows, there is no reason to listen to the same show twice.

The easiest way to record these shows and drag and drop them into my MP3 player, is to go to My Computer, open up the files on that MP3 CD and drag and drop them into my Sony MP3 player software, which processes the shows, after they are dropped into the icon for the MP3 player. I thought it would be more complicated than it was, but it is relatively easy. While the shows are copying, I write the show dates and titles of the shows I am recording onto the MP3 player, into the notebook.

Online Radio Dealers

Old time radio dealers can be found on the internet to buy the shows from, but the shows can bought at ebay.com for good prices, from most ebay dealers.

It is best buy the shows on MP3 CD’s unless you know how to breakdown a MP3 DVD, which I don’t know how, or you may only be able to play it on a computer. One thing to remember is that MP3 CD’s cannot be played on a regular CD player.

If you do know how to handle a MP3 DVD there is a set of 930 shows of Suspense currently on ebay for $4.89 with a shipping charge of $1.79, which comes out to $6.68 for 930 shows, or about 7 cents an episode.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUSPENSE-Old-Time-Radio-Shows-930-Episodes-MP3-/200649713915?pt=Music_CDs&hash=item2eb7a7a8fb#ht_2759wt_932

This is the most informative site for finding great descriptions of each old-time radio show and finding those MP3 CD’s for sale. For instance this is the Great Gildersleeve page which includes a free sample of one of the shows. The website adds previously unavailable episodes every month. It is great that 49 years later after the death of old-time radio, that missing episodes are still being found.

http://www.otrcat.com/great-gildersleeve-p-1337.html

The following online dealer also offers MP3 CD’s with updates, including episodes of shows found recently, that were previously missing.  The best thing about this site is that the price you see is the price you pay, since there is no shipping fees at this site.

http://dadsotr.com/index.html

Thousands of Free Show Online

There are also thousands of free shows that can be listened to online immediately for no charge. This is one of my favorite places for listening to free shows.

You can find 12,369 free shows to listen to. There are 610 free Jack Benny shows alone to listen to and 973 Lone Rangers shows.

http://otr.net/

Archive.org is another great place to listen to free old-time radio shows, but there is also a wealth of other content at the site, that may be of interest to readers.

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=old%20time%20radio%20AND%20mediatype%3Aaudio

Best Source For Old Time Radio Shows Information

For information on 100,645 old-time radio programs, the best place to search is the Radio GOLD Index. The site features descriptions of  individual episodes of shows, including the stars of each episode and the announcer.

The name of any star can be typed in the search box and a list of any episodes they appeared in will show up on the screen. However, the site will be missing some episodes of shows, so it is not a complete listing.

The best source for information of shows in book form is John Dunning’s On The Air The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio printed by Oxford Press. The list price is $55, but I found it several years ago at ebay for $25. It was in perfect condition for that price, looking like it had never been opened.

Amazon has 38 reviews of the book with 32 being 5 star reviews and 4 being 4 star reviews. The 840 page book lists the days of the week the show was on, a list of cast members and what networks the show appeared on, in addition to a review of each show, with the more popular shows receiving longer reviews.

There is a Kindle edition of the book for $19.22.

http://www.amazon.com/Air-Encyclopedia-Old-Time-Radio/dp/0195076788/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317751599&sr=1-12

Did Dorothy Kilgallen Know Too Much About JFK Assassination?

Dorothy Kilgallen was born July 3, 1913 in Chicago, Illinois. She started writing her Voice of Broadway column for 146 syndicated papers.

She hosted the radio program Dorothy and Dick on WOR in New York City which was first broadcast in 1945. Her husband Richard Kollmar co-starred on the program. Kollmar was known for portraying Boston Blackie on the old-time radio show with the same name as the character he portrayed.

The show was on the air for 18 years before it ended in 1963. Meanwhile she was one of the panelists on What’s My Line a CBS television show hosted by John Daly which began in 1945. She appeared on the show until her untimely death in 1965.

Kilgallen was active in newspapers, radio and television simultaneously, so was well-known long before she interviewed Jack Ruby. She hated country music with a passion and when some stars of the Grand Ole Opry appeared at Carnegie Hall, she called them “hicks from the sticks”. Patsy Cline didn’t take kindly to her words and said ” And if I have the pleasure of seeing that wicked witch, I’ll let her know how proud I am to be a hick from the sticks.”

Published Ruby’s Testimony Before Made Public

Her five minute private  interview with Ruby is supposedly the only interview he gave without the presence of sheriff’s deputies. Somehow she got hold of the transcripts of Ruby’s testimony before the Warren Commission, then had them published before the Warren Commission Report was published.

J. Edgar Hoover considered Kilgallen a threat and had her moves watched closely for 25 years before the assassination. Kilgallen charged that the mafia had been recruited by the CIA to assassinate the Cuban leader Fidel Castro. That was later proven to be true.

Ruby Met With Officer Tippett Before Assassination

The most shocking revelation revealed by Kilgallen was that Jack Ruby, J.D. Tippett (the police officer who was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald) and two other men had met at the Carousel, Ruby’s nightclub three weeks before the assassination. This makes me wonder just what Oswald and Tippett were talking about before Oswalt fatally shot Tippett.

Kilgallen Found Dead With JFK Notes Missing

The JFK assassination notes of Kilgallen were gone, when her body was found on November 8, 1965. She had bragged to many people that she was about to blow the JFK assassination case sky high with the information she had.

Even in death, there was controversy surrounding her autopsy. James Luke the medical examiner who spent 45 minutes at the death scene did not sign the death certificate, as Dominick DiMaio another medical examiner signed the name of James Luke.

No Official Cause of Kilgallen’s Death

No official cause of death has been determined, with it possibly being a combination of Seconal and alcohol causing the death. It is still not known whether it was suicide or accidental. There is also a possibility she may have had a heart attack concurrently with the effects of the barbiturates.

Since no witnesses were present at her death, that we know of, it may be that she was forced to take the overdose by the same people that took her JFK assassination notes.

The following paragraph from Wikipedia’s article on Kilgallen tells me she learned something that not even her husband would discuss after her death:

One of two known comments Richard Kollmar made about his first wife after her death was later recalled by Bob Bach, who booked the mystery guests for What’s My Line?. At Bach’s home several hours after her funeral, the television producer asked the widower to discuss his wife’s interest in the assassination, and Kollmar replied, “Robert, I’m afraid that will have to go to the grave with me.”

November Marks 48th Anniversary of JFK Assassination

In conclusion, this November will mark 48 years since the death of President John F. Kennedy in Dealey Plaza and 46 years since the death of Dorothy Kilgallen who apparently knew too much about that day, for her enemies to let her die of old age.

The day JFK was assassinated, I was a 19 year old soldier working in the company post office in Hawaii, when I heard the news of his death on the radio in the post office. I will be 67 when Nov.22 comes around this year. However, I have no more idea of what truly happened that day, than what I knew 48 years later except a U.S. president was assassinated on the streets of Dallas, Texas.

I have a feeling many people with knowledge of what really happened that day have died, many mysteriously, but as the years go by fewer and fewer of them are left. Someone 40 years old on that day would be 98, if still alive. Anyone 50 or older then probably have already taken any secrets they knew underground with them.

JFKresearch.com has more information on the life and death of Dorothy Kilgallen that may help fill in some of the gaps.

http://www.jfkresearch.com/morningstar/killgallen.htm

For those wanting to read the lengthy testimony of Jack Ruby before the Warren Commission. It is extremely long.

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/ruby_j1.htm

Peggy Lee: Class By Herself

Peggy Lee may have died nine years ago but her music lives on since she left behind her musical legacy to be treasured for years to come.

There have been many great female singers since the 30′s but the best in my book is Peggy Lee. She not only has a great voice, but you connect emotionally with her when she sings.

You can actually picture the folks who live on the hill in the song by the same name and who can forget Peggy singing Is That All There Is about the many disappointments in life.

The mark of a great  singer is if they can transfer the emotions they are feeling in the song they are singing to the listener and none was better at that than Peggy Lee.

She lost her mother at the age of four and had a wicked stepmother that abused her. So when you hear her singing with so much emotion, it is because she has known life at its worst and its best.

Peggy Lee singing You Was Right Baby.

Peggy Lee may be gone, but she will never be forgotten.

Reese Witherspoon is slated to portray Peggy Lee in a biopic that we hope will be in theaters in the next year or two.

Nostalgic Memories From the Past

These are just some of my memories of the good old days:

When the  ice man brought ice to place in your icebox.

When milkmen brought your milk to the house with cream at the top of the bottles.

When attic fans were the only way of getting any air in a house.

When we would walk on the Murray Street Bridge and see the Red River below, when there were missing slats.

When we were hot and didn’t think about it being hot because it was all we knew since nobody had air conditioners then.

When television shows didn’t come on  till 3:30 PM.  Howdy Doody and Pinky Lee started the telecast day on KALB-TV in Alexandria, Louisiana in the 50′s.

When we listened to old time radio shows like Dragnet and Breakfast Club on the radio, while my mom listened to her soap operas like Just Plain Bill, Stella Dallas, Lorenzo Jones and Guiding Light.

When people would go to local appliance store at night and watch television through the display window at Jimmie Walker’s Appliances on Main Street in Pineville.

When we would come home from school and watch our cowboy heroes in action.

When nativity scenes could be seen in public places before ACLU raised such a fuss, that you can’t find one in a mall today.

When stores like Penneys, Sears and Montgomery Ward were located in free standing stores, before the advent of the shopping centers and malls.

When kids would trick or treat until 10PM at night, filling grocery bags full of candy, with no special Halloween bags.

When families went to drive-in movies together, while teenagers would sneak a extra kid in the trunk, to avoid paying for them.

When theatergoers would throw tomatoes at the movie screen if they were upset with a bad movie.

When Larry McHale of KALB – TV was advertising cigarettes and started coughing, but regrouped and said “Just thinking of those other brands makes me cough.”

When eating TV dinners were more popular than fast food.

When McDonald’s had 15 cent hamburgers.

When you could get a haircut for less than a dollar.

When it cost a dime to see a movie.

When it cost a dime for a school lunch in 1950 at Pineville Elementary in Pineville, Louisiana.

When kids collected baseball cards and put them in bicycle spokes.

When families would go on picnics at the city park, letting the kids play on the playground equipment.

When going to stores we would see white and colored water fountains. One black man tried both kinds and said they tasted the same.

When we watched No Time For Sergeants three times in a row at the movie theater. (One of the funniest movies ever, with Don Knotts being a dexterity expert, that became discombobulated by Andy Griffith’s character.)

When we used to drink Hawaiian Punch and Delaware Punch.

When we used to pay a nickel for a 6 ounce coke out of a machine. Now they charge over a $1.50 for a 20 ounce coke, when in the old days a 24 ounce coke would cost 20 cents.

When we walked a mile to school everyday for the entire 12 years of elementary and high school.

When there was no middle school back in the 50′s.

When Gov. Earl K. Long of Louisiana gave free chickens to voters during a gubneratorial election.

When going fishing meant taking a cane pole and not a expensive rod and reel.

When I bought a $6.50 Nokona baseball glove for $6.00 when the hardware store owner found out I didn’t have enough money to pay the full price.

When we celebrated Christmas by running around with sparklers.

When we would see the miniature church on the city square in Alexandria every Christmas.

When Christmas music was played downtown during the Christmas season.

When we used to play marbles in school.

When playing with a yo-yo was cool.

When hula hoops were the hot fad.

When high school kids rode bikes to school instead of driving cars.

When familes went to church together.

When families actually ate dinner together at a table, instead of in front of the television.

When kids made money by delivering newspapers on bicycle.

When we drank grapefruit juice at breakfast even though we didn’t like it.

When we ate Wheat Chex at breakfast even though we didn’t like it.

When we used to get excited about another school year starting.

When we went to special Christmas Eve services on a cold night in December and watching Christmas movies on television when we got home.

When we had a train set over our bed as a kid.

When we took a trip in 1957 and saw the Howard Johnson restaurants with the orange roofs.

When we got together as a family to hear mother read from the Bible.

When we used to listen to records on the record player.

When homemade ice cream was better than any ice cream bought in a store.

When pizza was delivered to the house the first time.

When mom and pop stores went out of business because of Wal-Mart.

When there used to be neighborhood groceries scattered around in residential neighborhoods.

Yes, those truly were the good old days.

Old Time Radio Poll

The last old time radio show aired on September 30,1962. Next year marks the 50th anniversary of Suspense and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar being the last old time radio shows to be broadcast.

The poll today breaks down by age groups of people who have heard old time radio shows either live from 1920′s till September 30, 1962 or media such as MP3 CD’s and downloads:

Used Baby Racket Problem

This morning I listened to the Used Baby Racket episode of This is Your FBI on my MP3 player.

The story tells about a lady who sells her baby for $1,000 to someone who wanted to avoid the long wait to adopt a baby.

Her husband sends a recording on a record saying he is coming back home from Germany. She is worried because she has sold their baby to a stranger, and needs to buy the baby back, since her husband is coming home.

She tells her brother about her problem and he comes up with the idea of pretending to be an FBI agent, and tell the lady that the baby was kidnapped. His plan works perfectly as the lady gives the baby back to him.

They then resell the baby to another mother. Then the husband calls and says he is at the airport and will be home in 20 minutes. The lady and her brother were planning on reselling the baby again, but the husband coming back ruined their plans. So they take off with the baby, so they can sell it again.

They had a list of parents who wanted to adopt babies, making it easy for the criminals to sell the same baby several times, then use the FBI ploy to take the baby back free and then resell again.

This was a true case in the FBI files and the entire episode can be heard at this website:

http://www.dumb.com/oldtimeradio/listen/10457/Detective_This_Is_Your_F_B_I/This_Is_Your_F_B_I/47_04_04_The_Used_Baby_Racket_mp.html

The show was originally broadcast on April 4, 1947. Babies are still being sold 64 years later by criminals who are out to make money off of mothers desperate to have a baby.

Doris Day: Celebrates 89th Birthday

Doris Day celebrated her 89th birthday earlier this week.

Doris Mary Ann Von Kapplehoff was born on April 3, 1922. She is better known to her fans as Doris Day.

She hasn’t been seen on television except as a guest or in the movies since the Doris Day Show ended in 1973. For the last 38 years she has lived a low profile life.

When her third husband, Martin Melcher died in 1968, she claimed to not know he had planned a television series the Doris Day Show before his death.

She did the series and it was successful, which was the last time she appeared on television in a regular series of her own.

Her fear of flying probably was a huge factor in retiring, since she probably wouldn’t have consented to fly to movie or television locations.

She never liked anyone swearing around her and once required anyone that swore to place a quarter in the “swear box’ during a recording session.

Day surprisingly believes a couple should live together before being married as she stated in her 1975 autobiography:

[In her 1975 autobiography] You don’t really know a person until you live with him, not just sleep with him. Sex is not enough to sustain marriage. I have the unfortunate reputation of being Miss Goody Two-shoes, America’s Virgin, and all that, so I’m afraid it’s going to shock some people for me to say this, but I staunchly believe no two people should get married until they have lived together. The young people have it right. What a tragedy it is for a couple to get married, have a child, and in the process discover they are not suited for one another! If I had lived with Al Jorden for a few weeks, God knows I would never have married him. Nor would I have married George Weidler. But I was too young and too inexperienced to understand any of this. Now my heart was busted and I had lost my way.

She didn’t think much of Elizabeth Taylor’s penchant for wearing expensive jewelry saying it could have been better used:

[about Elizabeth Taylor's diamonds] When I see Liz Taylor with those Harry Winston boulders hanging from her neck I get nauseated. Not figuratively, but nauseated! All I can think of are how many dog shelters those diamonds could buy.

Frank Sinatra: Nice And Easy – How Little It Matters

The great Frank Sinatra singing one of his up tempo songs Nice and Easy.

This is Frank Sinatra at his best singing one of his signature songs. The next video features Sinatra singing one of his lesser known songs but one of my favorites, How Little It Matters.

Sinatra singing a shortened version of  How Little We Know.

Neither of the songs included in this post were huge hits with How Little We Know reaching No.30 on the Billboard charts in 1956 while Nice and Easy topped out at No. 60 in 1960.

That doesn’t really matter to me since both songs are two of my favorite Sinatra songs. He recorded his first song in 1939 and was still singing into the 1990′s.

The following list names every song recorded by Sinatra and which year it was recorded:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_recorded_by_Frank_Sinatra

Amos and Andy TV Show

Amos and Andy stars Tim Moore (top), Spencer Williams and Alvin Childress.

Amos and Andy was a television series with mostly black actors, that was removed by the CBS network, after protests from the NAACP. The organization said the show portrayed the blacks, in a way to make them appear foolish.

I have known some black people that enjoyed the show very much. The NAACP put the black actors out of work, so doubt the actors appreciated the NAACP becoming involved.

The NAACP did not take action, when the radio version of the show was attacked in a Pittsburgh newspaper in the early 1930′s.

Only 69 episodes of the show were filmed before CBS removed it from the airwaves in 1953, according to the Internet Movie Database.

This is the primary cast of the show as listed by Wikipedia.com:

Amos Jones – Alvin Childress
Andrew Hogg Brown (Andy) – Spencer Williams
George “Kingfish” Stevens – Tim Moore
Sapphire Stevens – Ernestine Wade
Ramona Smith (Sapphire’s Mama) – Amanda Randolph
Madame Queen – Lillian Randolph
Algonquin J. Calhoun – Johnny Lee
Lightnin’ – Nick Stewart (aka, Nick O’Demus)

Jester Harrison who portrayed Leroy during the run of Amos and Andy, later was seen many years later, in the Amen television series.

To me it was one of the funniest shows to run on network television. It is sad that few people today even know about the series, much less actuallyhave seen an entire episode.

In this clip from Amos and Andy the Kingfish signs his wife up for a job without her knowing. She is excited about the job though,  since it pays $8 a day.

The only episodes of the show being sold today, are bootleg copies but can be found online, from various sellers.

Frank Sinatra: I Get a Kick Out of You

Frank Sinatra singing I Get a Kick Out of You and

The third verse of the song has a reference to cocaine but in the video it is changed to perfume from Spain.

That would bore me terriff is in most Sinatra versions of the song and not terricic’ly too as shown in the third verse lyrics here.

Some get a kick from cocaine.
I’m sure that if I took even one sniff
That would bore me terrific’ly too
Yet I get a kick out of you.

Cole Porter wrote the song in 1934 making it 77 years old this year.

Mickey Rooney Testifies in Washington

Mickey Rooney testified before Congress about senior abuse and his passionate testimony told of how he personally has been abused himself.

From the news reports I have read, there has been no mention of him naming his son-in-law Chris Aber as the one who abused him but Aber is under a restraining order preventing him from being in close proximity to Rooney.

Aber’s attorney John O’Meara has stated that these charges of abuse are untrue. However he is saying that more than likely on his talks with Aber who isn’t going to say he abused Rooney. Therefore, O’Meara’s statement can be taken with a grain of salt.

I can’t believe Rooney would go before Congress making up a story about his son-in-law. I am sure Rooney’s testimony will be backed up in a court of  law soon.

http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/02/6173269-mickey-rooney-gives-passionate-testimony-before-congress

Mickey Rooney testifying before Congress as he tells how senior abuse left him with no control over his life.

After seeing his testimony it makes me feel terrible knowing that man who entertained us for about 70 years wasn’t enjoying his golden years because a family member allegedly has taken away control of his life leaving him a helpless 90 year old man.

He may have been Andy Hardy to us for many years back in the 30′s and 40′s but today he is a man reduced to nothingness because of senior abuse.

May God grant Mickey Rooney and others like him a peaceful life in the years remaining for them on earth. It is not asking much to be treated with respect and love because that is all Rooney and the other victims of abuse are asking for.

Western Stars of the Past: Roy Rogers

 

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans at the Academy Awards ceremony in 1989.

Roy Rogers was born as Leonard Franklin Skye November 5, 1911 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He claimed to have been born at second base at Riverfront Stadium since he lived on the site of the stadium early in his life. He joined the Sons of the Pioneers singing group and changed his name to Dick Weston.

He appeared in many of his early movies as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers starting in 1935.  Then he received his big break when Gene Autry walked off the set of a movie he was making and Leonard Slye became Roy Rogers for the first time in a starring role in Under Western Stars in 1938.

Rogers had been married twice before marrying Dale Evans. He was married to Lucille Ascolese from 1933-1935 and married in 1936 to Grace Wilkins who died in 1946 due to complications after giving birth to Roy “Dusty” Rogers Jr.

Dale Evans appeared in her first movie with Rogers in Cowboy and the Senorita in 1944. They would marry after the death of his wife in 1947 and remained married till the death of Rogers in 1998.

In addition to appearing in movies he also could be heard on old time radio for ten years in the 40′s and 50′s. One of the most important old time radio sellers online lists only 77 shows remaining from the ten year run for sale.

He bought his famous horse Trigger in 1938 according to Wikipedia and he trained Trigger to do 60 tricks since he had grew up training animals. B-westerns.com contends that he bought Trigger in 1943 for $2,500. The 1943 date is probably the accurate one since B-westerns.com has seen the bill of sale.

His last credited appearance as Roy Rogers was in the 1951 movie Pals of the Golden West in which he portrayed a border patrolman.

The Roy Rogers television series aired from 1951-1957 and 100 episodes were filmed. When I think of cowboy western stars that appeared on television his show is the one I remember best.

Mackintosh and T.J. released in 1975 would be his last movie appearance. He played a ranch hand and a drifter since by now he was in his 60′s.

He played himself in his last television appearance on The Fall Guy in 1984.

Fourteen years later Rogers died of congestive heart failure on July 8, 1998 in Apple Valley, California at the age of 86. Three years later his wife Dale Evans died at the age of 88.

Gravesites of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

It was interesting to see on the graves the birth names of  Roy Rogers and Dale Evans along with their birth names.

Not only were they were radio, television and movie stars they were also excellent role models who personified America at its best.

Roy Rogers is shown in this photo after getting out of his motorboat on the Red River in Alexandria, Louisiana and would stay at Hotel Bentley that night.

I was there the day Roy Rogers arrived in Alexandria. We must have known ahead of time he was coming because we were there when he arrived. I can remember my mom taking photos of the event.

Hotel Bentley was in its heyday then and was on the other side of the Red River levee so Rogers had a short walk to the hotel.

The world lost two of my favorite people in Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Their memory will live on though through the old time radio shows, movies and the Roy Rogers television shows they left behind.

 

Archive.org: Great Multimedia Website

Archive.org will keep a reader entertained for hours.

Archive.org is probably the best source for audio and video online this side of YouTube.  The home page for the website as I write this article has a link to an audio version of a Grateful Dead concert at Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum at New Haven, Connecticut on May 11, 1981.

The concert is only one of 803,305 audio recordings at the website.  There are 2,214 old time radio related links to old time radio shows and magazines that were printed during the height of the popularity of old time radio.

One Roy Rogers episode has been downloaded 74,882 times showing that the website is available for downloading many of the old time radio shows we grew up with.

Old time radio fans will love looking at list after list of old time radio shows available for downloading including some of the more obscure shows which have very few episodes in existence.

The live music archive features 88,813 archives while the moving image archives total 451,934.

Avid readers will enjoy knowing that there are 2.694,639 texts including books and ebooks. The new Bookreader at the site includes Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin and is the example shown of how the Bookreader works.

http://blog.archive.org/2010/12/10/2685/

There is an audio version of some books but the one I listened to was not of the best quality and seemed to be a computer generated voice which probably would be tiring to listen to for an entire book.

Most readers may not enjoy the voice and instead opt to read the books without sound. For those that like the audio they should enjoy the feature that highlights the portion of the book being read by the voice.

The Mega Reader iPhone app provides access to the 1.8 million free books at archive.org so they each iPhone user can have their own personal reader.

Each volume of the Warren Report investigation of the assassination of  President John F. Kennedy is available to read.

The site is an excellent source of reading material for educators and students who are looking for books that are no longer copyrighted.

One word of caution: it could take hours just to look at what is available at archive.org. This website may have the most content of any website online and is worth going to the website to see for yourself what is available.

http://www.archive.org/

Mickey Rooney Allegedly Being Abused by Stepson

Mickey Rooney reportedly being abused by stepson.

Mickey Rooney’s attorneys have secured a restraining order to prevent his stepson Chris Aber from coming closer than 100 yards to Rooney after the attorneys said that his stepson was preventing him from eating and taking his medicine.

Rooney is claiming to be living in fear of his stepson who is alleged to have done the following in this statement to the court:

“Chris is verbally abusive toward Mickey,” the court filing states. “He yells and screams at Mickey. He threatens, intimidates, bullies, and harasses Mickey.

“Mickey is effectively a prisoner in his own home,” the filing states.

His attorneys also took steps to protect his financial interests.

It is sad that the 90 year old actor couldn’t live his golden years in peace without the alleged abuse from his stepson.

My question is how this could have happened with his eighth wife Jan Chamberlin living in the house or did the abuse happen while she was away from home. It makes me wonder if she was being terrorized too and scared to report this. Another question is how long this has been going on.

This story reminds me of other Hollywood celebrities who were physically and/or financially abused by a relative or a caretaker.

It reminds me of Erin Fleming and the way she mistreated Groucho Marx before his death. This paragraph from her Wikipedia page is an example of the way she treated Marx:

In the years leading up to Marx’s death in 1977, his heirs filed several lawsuits against her. One allegation leveled against Fleming was that she was determined to sell Marx’s favorite car, a Cadillac, against his wishes. When Marx protested, it was said, Fleming threatened, “I will slap you from here to Pittsburgh.”

Now many years later Mickey Rooney is enduring the same kind of treatment that Marx received. After all the years that Rooney entertained his fans in his movies 70 years ago while making the Andy Hardy movies he deserves a better fate than to be terrorized by a stepson.

It will be interesting to see what happens at the February 24 hearing that could extend the restraining order. It is a mystery to me how this could go on without his wife notifying someone about the abuse.

Mickey Rooney deserves to live his last years in peace and hopefully the restraining order will be the first step in assuring him that the alleged abuse is over.

The following article from the Baltimore Sun and a video from KTLA in Los Angeles give more details. The stepson is shown in the video denying the charges of abuse.

One of Rooney’s attorneys said that his client had to sneak out of the house at night to meet with the attorneys and showed them an empty wallet with no money or any forms of identification.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/ktla-mickey-rooney-court-protection-stepson,0,3091099.story

It Happened One Night: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert

This trailer from It Happened One Night shows Clark Gable giving Claudette Colbert tips on how to get drivers to pick up a hitchhiker.

The 1934 movie was released 77 years ago yet the trailer is a high quality clip considering how old it is.

Both Gable and Colbert would win best actor Oscars for the movie while director Frank Capra would win the Best Director award and the film received best picture award in 1935.

They would later appear on radio in the same roles for a radio version of It Happened One Night on Lux Radio Theater.

Ward Bond who later would star in the television series Wagon Train portrayed a bus driver in the movie.

Claudette Colbert said after completing the movie that she had just made the worst movie ever but it turned out to be a huge hit showing she knew more about acting than the business side of making movies.

MP3 Players: Then and Now

Creative Nomad Zen Xtra Jukebox

It has been seven years since I purchased my Creative Nomad Zen Xtra Jukebox MP3 player and it is still working great in 2011.

The 40 GB player may not be as slim as the MP3 players being sold today but it has 4,092 songs in it that I recorded from CD’s I had in my collection which has used only 14 GB of the space in the player.

I have found that Windows Media Player is best for ripping the songs from a CD into the computer and then after that process is completed going to My Computer will find the music in the My Music folder.

Right clicking on the music folder for the album and sending it to the player is all that is needed for it to copy the music into the player.

The sound quality to me is excellent and the music can be listened to in many ways. FM transmitters can be used to play the music in a stereo system, from non MP3 radios and other music sources.

However I have encountered problems getting the exact frequency on the transmitter to listen to the music so seldom even try to use them.

When my wife bought me a record player a couple of years ago it had an MP3 connection in the back enabling me to just plug one end into the MP3 player and the other into the MP3 connection on back of the record player.

There are many speakers today that are easily connected to a MP3 player. At one time Dollar Tree had one for a dollar that while it wasn’t the best sound but it did work.

Last year I found a I-Pod radio selling at a garage sale for only $3 which also has a MP3 connection in the back and it is great to listen to music and old time radio shows.

The old time radio shows on MP3 CD’s go directly into the My Music folder in Windows after the CD has been inserted into the CD drive. So with the MP3 player connected to the computer and the folder for the old time radio shows on that CD open right clicking will send the shows to the MP3 player.

Most MP3 CD’s will hold 100 old time half hour radio shows which is 50 hours of listening pleasure. For instance I have over 800 Jack Benny episodes on 8 or 9 discs.

One MP3 CD in my collection has an entire baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees in 1934 with legendary Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson as an announcer. 77 years later it is still possible to listen to a game in which Lou Gehrig is playing but Babe Ruth was out with an injury that day.

There are also MP3 CD’s that are packed with radio shows that announce the bombing of Pearl Harbor and another about the Normandy invasion and you can hear the news broadcast those days over 60 years later.

Another MP3 CD includes a typical broadcast day from 1939 which includes every show that day that was broadcast from sign on till sign off and gives an idea of what it was like 71 years ago.

With my collection of over 17,000 old time radio episodes of many different shows it is easy to transfer several episodes of a particular show to the MP3 player and then after listening to them delete them from the player since they are on a MP3 CD so I can tell immediately if I have heard a show since I have heard it the episode would have been deleted.

If someone wants to buy old time radio shows it is much cheaper to buy them in MP3 form than on a regular audio CD since an audio CD may hold only four half hour shows and a cassette tape will only have a half hour show on front and back of the tape depending on how much the tape will hold.

2GB MobiBlu Cube MP3 player.

Move the calendar ahead to 2011 and MobiBlu has on the market a very small 2GB MP3 player that  only weighs .063 ounces and it is a .94 of an inch square.

The MobiBlu player shown in the photo is currently being sold at Amazon for $111.22 which seems a bit too pricey for such a small player.

The player includes an FM radio and a clock. It also includes a built in microphone and a voice recorder.

The radio also can save music or talk shows into the player for later listening.

The price still is a little steep for a player that holds only 32 hours of MP3 music and 64 hours of WMA music.

To me it is more of a novelty than a practical MP3 player.

 

My clunky looking Creative Nomad Zen Xtra Jukebox may not be as small as the MobiBlu player but it has provided a lot of listening pleasure the last seven years.

Someday my Creative player will be obsolete since it is not compatible with Windows 7 the last I knew and I am already getting not compatible with Windows Media Player messages already but it does still work with it.

The only problem is that I have misplaced the installation CD for the player and since our computer was repaired after the virus the software is no longer in the computer so I can’t download music and old time radio shows till I find the missing software.

However I can still listen to the music and old time radio shows in the player for many years to come. Buying electronic products can produce a myriad of problems but I can truthfully say the Creative Nomad Zen Xtra Jukebox is working as well today as when I received it in the mail back in 2004.

1941 Philco console radio.

I can still listen to old time radio shows that go as far back as 1928 which is 83 years ago. The MP3 CD’s have been a amazing development that enable listeners in 2011 to go back in time to the good old days of old time radio which lasted from the 20′s till September 30,1962 the day old time radio died.

I can still recall visiting my grandparents at their Allendale, Missouri farm in 1959 and listening to radio shows and Kansas City Athletics baseball games as they were broadcast on a radio similar to this 1941 Philco console radio.

However the MP3 player enables me to relive those days 53 years later as I listen to the same great old time radio shows that were being broadcast back then.

It is exciting to listen to the old comedy shows like Fibber McGee and Molly, Great Gildersleeve, Amos and Andy and the Jack Benny show.

Detective shows of that era come alive again as Boston Blackie, Dragnet, This is Your FBI and dramas likk the Family Theater and Lux Radio Theater can be heard today bringing back memories of the good old days when life wasn’t so fast paced.

Listening to the Christmas shows from those days are a special treat like A Christmas Carol, Amos and Andy Christmas show in which Amos recites the Lord’s Prayer to his daughter on Christmas Eve. Another favorite was the Lum N’ Abner show where neighbors walk through the snow to help a destitute family.

The Family Theater Christmas episode of A Daddy For Christmas will bring tears to your eyes as a mother and her son try to make it after her husband is killed in World War II and the son’s mom winds up marrying a department store Santa Claus.

MP3 technology has made it possible for us to hear those shows on MP3 CD’s that are nominally priced with Ebay showing  621 items under the old time radio CD’s listing.

Some of the sellers are selling huge numbers of shows on MP3 CD’s and DVD’s. One seller is selling 852 episodes of Jack Benny shows for $4.89 using Buy It Now with only a $1.69 shipping charge. The only caveat is that these episodes are all on one DVD while it would take about nine MP3 CD’s for these same episodes which would drive the price higher.

These shows will play on a computer but it will take more technical knowledge than I have to play these shows on other devices but most audiophiles should have no problem.

Anyone who misses the good old days of radio can listen to the old shows at several websites if they can’t afford or don’t want to purchase an MP3 player.

OTR.NET is one of the best to listen to old time radio programs for free with over 12,000 free shows to listen to including 610 Jack Benny shows.

OTRCAT.com is one of the best places to sample shows where almost every show sold on the site has a free sample of that show.

Happy old time radio listening!!

 

Know the Face, Not the Name: Burt Mustin

1884-1977

Burt Mustin was born February 8, 1884 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Pennsylvania Military College in 1903 with a degree in civil engineering. He was an auto salesman at one point in his life.

It would be 28 years after graduating  before Mustin made his entry into show business working for KDKA radio station in Pittsburgh.

1951 would be the year he first appeared in a film which was named The Last Outpost at the age of 67.

Mustin would make his television debut the same year in an episode of the Adventures of Kit Carson.

According to radiogoldindex.com he only was in only one episode of Lone Ranger in 1955  before the death of old time radio in 1962.

One of his best known roles was as Gus the Fireman in Leave it to Beaver from 1957-1962. He was 78 when he made his last appearance on the show.

He also was seen in 14 episodes of the Andy Griffith show portraying several different characters including Jud, Old Geezer, Mr. Crowley, Sam Benson, Judd with 2 d’s, Jubal, Jud Fletcher and a townsman. He was in the first six years of the series from 1960-1966 and was 82 when he left the show.

For the next 10 years he appeared in a variety of television programs ranging from the Monkees to All in the Family to Laugh-In to Dragnet to Gunsmoke and ended his acting career in 1976 in three episodes of Phyliss with his last episode being the December 6, 1976 episode. He died about two months later on January 28, 1977 in Glendale, California at the age of 92 just short of his 93rd birthday which would have been on February 8.

Burt Mustin appearing on the Tonight show with Johnny Carson on March 5, 1976 less than a year before his death.

His acting career was relatively short spanning from 1951-1976 but he probably appeared in more different television shows than most actors did in a much longer span.

My favorite memory of Burt Mustin was when he portrayed Gus the Fireman on Leave it to Beaver.

Western Stars of the Past: Gene Autry

 

Gene Autry 1907-1998

I have been following the career of Gene Autry for many years but only today did I know his first name was Orvon and that he was Orvon Eugene Autry when he was born on September 29, 1907 in Tioga, Texas.

His family moved to Oklahoma in the 1920′s and after becoming a telegrapher for a railroad company he would practice singing especially after midnight. Will Rogers overheard him singing and told him he should be a professional singer.

He signed his first recording contract with Columbia Records in 1929 and three years later he recorded his first hit song  That Silver-Haired-Daddy of Mine. Back in the Saddle Again was another of his early hits.

Autry not only received a Gold Record for That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine but it was the first Gold Record received by any recording artist according to his official website.

Although Autry is known for singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer he wrote the Christmas standard Here Comes Santa Claus.

He would make his movie debut in 1934 in the movie In Old Santa Fe with Smiley Burnette who would be his sidekick portraying Frog Milhouse and Burnette also wrote many of the songs sung in the Autry films. He appeared in 80 of the Gene Autry westerns.

Pat Buttram would later replace Burnette in his movies when Autry returned from fighting in World War II since Burnette had found other employment. However, Burnette played a lot of different characters in the Autry films having different names in most of the movies.

Burnette did return to appear in the last six Gene Autry films which were released in 1953 after being in 56 films with western star Charles Starrett in the Durango Kid movies.

Not only was Gene Autry a recording star and western movie star but he also served in the Army Air Force from July of 1942 till October of 1945 during the height of his movie career. He was a flight officer flying planes in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

Autry also was  an old time radio star appearing on his Melody Ranch radio program from 1940 to 1956. His horse Champion also had a radio show Adventures of Champion.

He wrote the Cowboy Commandments for his young listeners of the radio program:

1. Never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage;
2. Never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him;
3. Always tell the truth;
4. Be gentle with children, the elderly and animals;
5. Not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas;
6. Help people in distress;
7. Be a good worker;
8. Keep himself clean in thought, speech, action and personal habits;
9. Respect women, parents and his nation’s laws;
10. Be a patriot.

Autry’s films were loaded with action and singing and he was one of the first of the singing cowboys in the movies.

The town of Gene Autry, Oklahoma was named for him in 1941 and the 2000 census shows a population of 99 for the town. He bought a 1,200 acre ranch named the Flying A Ranch in 1939 near Berwyn, Oklahoma.

He also appeared on television on the CBS network and even had a Golden Book for children written about him.

Another first for Autry is that he was the first recording artist to sell out Madison Square Garden. He also received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his accomplishments in five categories with stars in five different locations.

Dell Published printed a million copies of Gene Autry comic books in 1948 showing again how popular Gene Autry was in radio, television, movies, childrens books, comics and later as a baseball owner.

Even with all that was going on with his career Autry he also found time to provide stock for rodeos and was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame for his participation as a stock contractor.

He bought several radio stations and television stations and owned the broadcast rights to the Los Angeles Angels baseball team and became the owner of the team. He not only was the first owner of the Angels was the vice president of the American League.

Among his other accomplishments were his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1969, the Angels retired No.26 in his honor even though he never played professional baseball and was honored for his work to preserve the memory of the old west days. Major league teams have 25 player rosters so that is how the No.26 became his number since he was regarded as the 26th man.

His entry into the restaurant business was short-lived when he refused to pay the Chicago mafia a fee to open his business. Gangsters showed up on opening night and ordered the staff to leave and then destroyed the restaurant. That ended Autry’s foray into the restaurant business.

However money was never a problem for Autry as he was on the list in Forbes magazine of the 400 Richest Americans for many years and his fortune was valued at $320 million in 1995 which by then was not enough to be in the top 400 richest.

Surprisingly Gene Autry was the musical inspiraton for Beatle Ringo Starr who made this quote about his interest in Autry:

Gene Autry was the most. It may sound like a joke – Go and have a look in my bedroom, It’s covered with Gene Autry posters. He was my first musical influence.
Ringo Starr

Gene Autry’s life ended on October 2, 1998 due to lymphoma dying at his home in Studio City, California. His death came less than three months after the death of his contemporary singer-cowboy Roy Rogers.

It can said that Gene Autry was a success at everything he attempted in life except for the restaurant business but nobody could have succeeded under those conditions.

 

 

 

Gene Autry died extremely rich but was buried in a grave with a simple marker with all the others in the cemetery. This tells me he never thought he was special but he will be special to those of us who remember seeing his movies and listening to his recordings especially the Christmas songs.

 

 

 

This memorial at the Find A Grave website reminds me of how much I loved him singing Christmas songs:

Santa Claus comes tonight! Thanks, Gene for all you did for us kids of yesteryear. May you rest in peace, and may God be with you always.
- K. Williams
Added: Dec. 24, 2010

What a tribute to a great man who was such a great role model for kids and adults alike.

David Nelson of Ozzie and Harriet Dies at 74

David Nelson who was the last surviving member of the Nelson family of the Ozzie and Harriet television series has died in Century City, California at the age of 7

David Nelson died at the age of 74 due to complications from colon cancer at his home in Century City, California. He was born on October 24, 1936 in New York City.

The Ozzie and Harriet television series featured Nelson in 432 episodes from 1952-1966. He appeared in various television programs or movies after leaving Ozzie and Harriet including playing a doorman in Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke movie in 1978 and made his last appearance as an actor in 1990 in the Johnny Depp movie Cry-Baby portraying the father of Traci Lord’s character Wanda.

While Ozzie and Harriet was running he was in the 1957 movie Peyton Place in which he played the role of Ted Carter.

Nelson owned a production company after ending his acting career 21 years ago. While his brother Ricky was in the public eye for years after Ozzie and Harriet left the air David Nelson mostly stayed out of the spotlight.

His brother Ricky had died in a plane crash 26 years ago on New Year’s Eve of 1985 near Texarkana, Texas.

Very few of the Adventures of Ozzie Harriet old time radio show remain in circulation with about only 80 shows remaining from the ten year run of the series.

The Ozzie and Harriet television series to my knowledge has not been shown on television for many years but Radio of Yesteryear website says it is currently running on the Ion Network but the Ion website doesn’t show Ozzie and Harriet on their current schedule.

Those of us that grew up in the 40′s and 50′s have lost the last member of the Nelson family but they will all remain in our hearts as long as we live after listening to and watching them for 24 years on radio and television.

http://www.originaloldradio.com/show_history_for_ozzie_and_harriet.html

Life in the 1940′s

A young Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower is shown in the above photo as the Louisiana Maneuvers involving 400,000 U.S. soldiers took place north of Pineville, Louisiana in 1941. Four years later Col. Eisenhower would be a general commanding the D-Day invasion as the U.S. would enter the European theater of World War II on June 6, 1944. Less than a year later the war would be over in Europe when Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945. Three months later on August 15,1945 the Japanese would surrender.

The war was just part of 1940′s history but affected the daily lives of those who stayed home during the war. In 1943 automobile production was halted so those materials could be used in the war effort.

American citizens experienced rationing of food supplies in 1943. Travel was limited in order to make tires last longer and drivers were told to not drive over 35 MPH to extend the life of tires.

Interesting Facts From the 40′s

The U.S. population was 122 million in the 1940′s and is as of this moment at over 311 million an increase of  189 million since the 1940′s.

The national debt in the 40′s was $43 billion but the national debt today stands at over $14 trillion. The minimum wage was 43 cents an hour and in 1966 when I started work at the Alexandria Town Talk in Alexandria, Louisiana the minimum wage was $1.40 an hour an increase of about a dollar an hour over what American workers were earning in minimum wage in the 40′s. The minimum wage today is $7.25

Many Had No Indoor Plumbing

Only 55 percent of  American homes had indoor plumbing in the 1940′s and outhouses were still being widely used.

The first commercial television stations went on the air in the 1940′s. The first digital computers weighed 30 tons.

Big Band Music Dominated

Big band music dominated the music scene during the 40′s as the bands traveled across the U.S. entertaining fans of big name bandleaders like Glenn Miller, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman.

The 1940′s would be the last decade in which old time radio ruled  the airwaves as television began to convert radio listeners into television viewers.

1945 would see the development of the first TV dinner. At the end of World War II there were only 5,000 television sets in existence. In 1951 that number would increase to 17 million sets being used.

Window Air Conditioners Gained Popularity

Only 74,000 window air conditioners were sold in 1948 and that number increased to 1.45 million by 1953.  We didn’t buy our first air conditioner till about 1967 so was 9 years old when we first bought a television and 23 when we bought our first air conditioner.

I don’t ever remember being hot though since that was all we knew and didn’t have anything to compare it with.

The following website has even more details about the 1940′s and the events and entertainment from that decade.

http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade40.html

No Modern Electronics in the 40′s

Back in the 1940′s the cell phone,  MP3 players, HD televisions, DVD players, laptops, notepads and electronic readers were not yet in use leaving time for other activities. Life was simpler then with no ringtones being heard from a cell phone when a phone call or message was being sent.

The 40′s saw the birth of my oldest brother in 1941, my birth in 1944, the birth of a younger brother in 1947 and a younger sister in 1947.

No War at End of Decade

The decade ended without another major war but June of 1950 would see the start of the Korean War the war which has been more of a forgotten war except for the veterans of that war and their family members.

You seldom see any television documentaries about the Korean War while you can always find film from World War II and the Vietnam War on television programs.

The 1940′s ended 62 years ago but for those of us who lived during that decade it will be forever etched in our memories.

Christmas and Lord’s Prayer Connection

This clip from the Amos and Andy television shows reminds us of the what the words in The Lord’s Prayer mean. The entire program can be found on YouTube but the most meaningful part starts at the 3:55 mark on the video.

The show was heard on old time radio before the television show debuted.

Little Jimmy Dickens Will Be 90 in December

Little Jimmy Dickens shown much earlier in his country music career.

 

Little Jimmy Dickens will be 90 on December 19. He was born in 1920 in Bolt, West Virginia. He is the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry of which he has been a member for 60 years.

A little known fact is that he is a descendant of Charles Dickens the author of A Christmas Carol.

He has never let his 4 foot 11 size hold him back and it may have even brought more attention to him as he climbed the ladder of success in country music.

Hank Williams Sr. wrote his hit song Hey Good Lookin’ expressly for Dickens but changed his mind saying “That song’s too good for you”.

Dickens has been singing since the late 30′s and has been singing now for nine decades. He recorded five Top 10 hits in 1949-1950 but wouldn’t have another Top 10 hit till Out Behind the Barn reached No.9 on the charts.

He recorded his only No.1 hit in 1965 when May the Bird of Paradise Fly up Your Nose went to No.1 on the country music chart.

It has been 38 years since he last had a song in the Top 100 country music songs chart.

Little Jimmy Dickens questions whether Brad Paisley should have won a best video award saying that Taylor Swift deserved to win.

Little Jimmy Dickens was known for his novelty tunes but he could sing a country ballad with the best of them as in this song Another Bridge to Burn.

Little Jimmy Dickens singing Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed.

One of my best memories of Little Jimmy Dickens is when he was on a television show and told the fans to knock on his door because his fans are the reason he has what he has.

Many country music stars have been let go by the Grand Ole Opry over the years but Little Jimmy Dickens should be a member of the Grand Ole Opry as long as there is life in him because he is a living icon that represents country music at its best for nine decades.

Walter Tetley: Kid Who Never Grew Up

Walter Tetley left who portrayed Leroy on The Great Gildersleeve is shown with Harold Peary who played the Great Gildersleeve and Louise Erickson who was his sister Marjorie on the program.

Walter Tetley never was big in stature nor did he have the voice of an adult during his long career in old time radio, television and movies but he will always be remembered for his portrayal of  Leroy Forrester on the Great Gildersleeve from 1941 to 1954 which aired on the NBC radio network.

Tetley was born June 2, 1915 in New York City with the name of  Walter Campbell Tetzlaff  and died 60 years later in Los Angeles, California on September 4, 1975.

He appeared in many movies in various roles for a shorter person like a telegram boy, an elevator operator, page boy, messenger boy, jockey, delivery boy and newsboy in 40′s movies.

It is thought that Tetley had a hormonal problem causing him to never develop an adult voice and never have the height of a normal adult.

Leroy is featured in this September 16, 1945 show Leroy Suspended From School . Leroy thinks being suspended means extra time to play but his uncle has other ideas like cleaning out the garage.

The show can be found as the No. 134 show on this list at otr.net.

http://www.otr.net/?p=gild

When old time radio as we knew it died on September 30, 1962 with Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and  Suspense airing their last shows on that date Tetley seldom appeared on radio again except when he could be heard in Hollywood Radio Theatre. He appeared in 841 old time radio programs according to radiogoldindex.com the best website for information on old time radio shows and personalities.

Tetley later would do voice over work in cartoons including Bullwinkle and the Dudley Do-Right shows on television.

He would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair after a 1971 motorcycle accident and died four years later in 1975.

Life wasn’t easy for Tetley who ended his career doing the voice of Timmy in A Christmas Story cartoon in 1972 but he worked for 38 years in the entertainment industry and was known for his comic delivery in both The Great Gildersleeve and the Phil Harris Show on which he played Julius Abruzzio.

It has been 35 years since the death of Tetley but his memory lives on in many old time radio shows which still can be heard on cassette tapes, records and MP3 CD’s which can hold as many as 50 shows on one CD for a nominal price.

OTRradio.com has 507 Great Gildersleeve shows for sale on six CD’s for only $11.00 including shipping which will give listeners over 250 hours of listening pleasure.

http://otrradio.com/id1.html

Nostalgic Website: Old Time Radio and Music of the Past

This website is one of the best for bringing back the old time radio shows and the music of the past. It is worth going into the archives to see what treasures are in those archives that will remind us of the past. There is a lot of old time radio shows and music from yesteryear to keep a listener enthralled for hours and maybe days.

 

http://nostalgic-radio.com/2010/11/08/doris-day-sentimental-journey-1944.asp

Frances Bavier: Better Known as Aunt Bee

Frances Bavier shown on lower right in photo with Ron Howard on her left and Don Knotts and Andy Griffith in the back row had a big part in the success of the Andy Griffith Show which is celebrating its 50th birthday this year.

Frances Bavier was born in New York City on December 14, 1902. She appeared in vaudeville, in old time radio in an episode of The Lone Ranger on March 24, 1955, on Broadway, in the movies and on television.

She made her first Broadway appearance in 1925 in The Poor Nut and her last appearance was in 1951 in Point of No Return with Henry Fonda.

Her first movie appearance was in Girls About Town which was released in 1931. She also appeared in The Day the Earth Stood Still twenty years later in 1951. Aliens invaded earth in the movie and earthlings were told to live peaceably or be destroyed.

One of Bavier’s co-stars in the movie was Billy Gray best known for his portrayal of Bud on Father Knows Best.

Her first television appearance was in Racket Squad in 1952. The first show I remember her from was It’s A Great Life which co-starred James Dunn, William Bishop and Michael O’Shea.

Frances Bavier is shown at the 1:49 mark in this video from Eve Arden Show which left the air in 1958.

Two years later she would appear in her most well known role as Aunt Bee Taylor in 175 episodes of the Andy Griffith Show. Bavier was in the show the entire length of its eight year run on the CBS television network that started on October 3, 1960 till April 1, 1968.

She made her last television appearance in 1970 when she appeared in 24 episodes of Mayberry R.F. D. Her last movie appearance was in 1974 when she played the lady with the cat in Benji.

When she retired in 1972 she chose to live in Siler City, North Carolina because it reminded her of Mayberry. Siler City had been mentioned in some episodes of the show.

Siler City is also known as the place where Colonel Sanders first introduced the taste of Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1939.

She was known to be difficult during the run of the show but did apologize to Andy Griffith for being so hard to work with shortly before her death.

When she first moved to Siler City she worked with charitable causes but when fans wouldn’t let her have her privacy she withdrew and became a recluse.

The following article tells about her living with 14 cats and her estate being valued at $700,000.

http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/b/Frances%20Bavier/frances_bavier.htm

She died on December 6, 1989 in her home at the age of 86 after battling cancer and heart disease.

The inscription on Frances Bavier's tombstone is very touching thought and she does still live in our hearts.

Andy Griffith Show: Floyd the Barber

Howard McNear who portrayed Floyd the barber on the Andy Griffith was an actor in old time radio, television and movies but will be most remembered for appearing on Andy Griffith.

Andy Griffith fans remember Howard McNear playing Floyd Lawson the barber on the Andy Griffith Show but he was also appeared in 1,042 old time radio programs according to radiogoldindex.com. He appeared in 80 episodes of the Andy Griffith Show.

He portrayed Doc Adams in the radio version of Gunsmoke and appeared in numerous old time radio shows from 1937-1961 and was still starring in the radio version of Gunsmoke when he made his first appearance on the Andy Griffith Show. He later would appear in six episodes of the television version of Gunsmoke.

His barbershop was a gathering place for the men in town to discuss what was going on in Mayberry at the time.

McNear appeared in films from 1930′s till the 1960′s. He sometimes portrayed villains in the movies which doesn’t seem possible since Don Knotts said that McNear playing Floyd the barber wasn’t much of a stretch since he was like that in real life.

He was born in Los Angeles on January 27, 1905 and died in San Fernando Valley, California at the age of 63 from complications due to the stroke on January 3, 1969

He suffered a stroke during the third season that made him unable to walk so he appeared sitting down in his scenes till he left the show after the 1967 season.